How to Be Compliant with Safety Communication in Aviation SMS

What is Safety Communication in Aviation SMS

Safety communication IS data sharing. This data sharing happens in several ways:

Sharing data with compliance authorities;

Sharing data with other service providers; and

Sharing data with employees and contractors.

Safety communication has significant implications in safety culture and transparency. You might even say that transparency is simply how much information you communicate.

These are important points because the term “safety communication” does not quite capture the fact that what we are really talking about is:

The type of safety culture management practices;

The type of relationship management has with front line employees and other organizations; and

How much trust management has in employees.

In programs with poor safety culture, it’s generally the practice that management restricts communication – i.e., withholds data – and with good reason too. It’s important that your company adheres to its own best practices of safety transparency, but also maintains safety communication compliance. Here are the three ways to be compliant with ICAO's safety communication requirements.

1 - Share Information (External Safety Communication)

The first element of safety communication compliance in aviation SMS is to practice data sharing with external agencies, such as your compliance authority. Some examples of this are:

2 - Evidence of Safety Internal Communication

The second portion of safety communication compliance is having a strong background of internal communication, including documentation of such. This type of communication extends well beyond simply emailing, including things like:

Company safety meetings (including what info what shared and who was present);